Fakers (Licking Thicket 1)

I swallowed. “The thing is, Dunn, Ava and I—”

“Are none of my business,” Dunn said, his expression turning serious. “Just like Ava grinning at Brooks’s boyfriend over at the football field a few minutes ago like he walked on water isn’t my business. And no, I don’t think Mr. Ivey noticed, and I’m not gonna tell him.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Nah. Keeping my mouth shut’s not something to thank me for. But that sign…” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to thank you enough for that. My dad… he’s a good guy, Mal. Real responsible, just like Brooks. And this town is like his fourth child. So, when shit goes wrong, like those signs being stolen, he worries like a father would.” He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “That art piece you created for us is beautiful. It’s something the whole Thicket can be proud of for generations. But more than that, you took a weight off my old man’s mind, and that means you took a weight off my mind too. And Brooks’s. And Gracie’s. And my mama’s. Far as I’m concerned, that makes you one of us now. If you ever need a friend, you’ve got one. And if you ever need a favor, you let me know.”

I stood frozen in place for a minute. I’d never had anyone express that kind of appreciation for my work before, and my throat was tight with a tangle of emotions—mostly good ones—I’d need to sort out later.

“Thank you, Dunn,” I managed to choke out. “Truly.”

“I owe you one,” Brooks said, clapping his brother on the back. “Or maybe more than one. You’re a good man.”

“Yeah, well, I’m gonna collect those favors right now, I’m afraid. I gotta get back to town, and I need a ride. Besides which, there are twenty-seven kinds of peach cobbler waiting for someone to judge ’em in an hour or so.”

“Right.” Brooks sighed.

“But I’ll give you a second just to make sure Mal’s totally out of the woods.” He winked. “Just in case you need to resuscitate him again.”

He slapped me gently on the arm and whistled as he strode back out into the sunshine.

I barely had time to blow out a breath of relief before Brooks’s mouth was on mine again.

“I’ll see you tonight?” he asked, after he’d rearranged my tonsils and all of my brain cells.

“Mm-hm.”

His grin was showstopping beautiful as he backed away from me. “Maybe afterward we can spend some time together again? Alone?”

“Mm-hm.”

He blew a kiss at me before turning and jogging off toward the driveway. I stood there wondering what he’d meant by “afterward,” but I didn’t much care as long as afterward brought more kisses and naked time with Brooks Johnson.

“There you are,” Ava said after who-knew-how-long I stood there daydreaming. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I figured you’d be asleep.”

“Oh, uh, not so much. I was hoping maybe I could sneak a nap in your room where it’s a little cooler than the surface of the sun.”

She waved her hand like it wasn’t important. “Fine, whatever. But first we have to get you fitted for the tux.”

I stared at her. “I’m sorry. What?”

“For the auction tonight. The man at the shop said as long as I get you in there in the next hour or so, he’ll be able to do it.”

“Ava, buttercup, this is one of those times you started a conversation a few minutes before starting to speak out loud. What auction and why do I need a tux?”

She looked at me with a crinkle in her forehead. “The bachelor auction. Brooks has to emcee and doesn’t want to participate, so they need someone to fill in as a bachelor. We need to sell you to the highest bidder.”

My brain was still a little fuzzy from painting Ava’s dad’s barn wall with my jizz earlier. “Sell me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not like, really sell you. Just, you know, for charity.”

“This is such a strange town,” I said.

Ava’s eyes softened. “Yeah, but it’s kind of also the best, you know?”

I thought about what Dunn had said about being one of them, what Brooks had said about me being special, and all the friendly faces and interesting conversations I’d had yesterday with the locals at the vendor fair.

“Yeah. It’s pretty great,” I admitted. “And your family… I think they’re going to be okay when you tell them about the baby.”

Her eyes filled and she nodded. “I think so too. They’ll be disappointed because they want me to have the best of everything. But…” She sniffed. “But I have them, and I have you. And I kind of feel like I have Brooks back in a weird way, and then…” Her chin trembled a little.

“Paul?”

She nodded some more and stumbled into my arms for a big hug. “I like him so much,” she admitted in a whisper, as if saying it too loudly would jinx it. “Why couldn’t this have been his baby, Mal? It’s not fair.”